


Love and the Game

by KristannaFever



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Kristanna, enemies to lovers scenario, revolving around a company softball team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21621694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KristannaFever/pseuds/KristannaFever
Summary: written for kristannachristmasinjuly2017 on tumblr
Relationships: Anna & Kristoff (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Love and the Game

“Hey Anna, you’re going to lead the company softball team again this year, right?”

Anna laughed. “Are you kidding? I live for our slo-pitch team!” 

Gerda smiled at her. “And you make it so fun too, even for someone older like me.”

“Well it’s meant to be fun! I was actually going to post the sign-up sheet on the bulletin board this afternoon. Hope we can get some of the newer employees interested, since I know a few who are dropping out this season.”

Gerda laughed. “I know you will have no trouble encouraging people to sign up.”

Anna smiled at her as Gerda headed back to work, but the truth of the matter was, she didn’t know if there _would_ be enough to make a team. A lot of people were telling her they were unable to commit to that many weekends over the spring.

Anna made her way back to her desk, distracted with reading an email on her phone, when she bumped into something.

“Hey, watch it!” Said a gruff voice.

“Oh, I’m sorry! So sorry!” She said, looking up to see a scowl.

He rolled his eyes and went to walk away, but she opened her mouth and stopped him. “Hey, are you new here?”

He stopped, but he did not turn back to face her. Instead he turned his head and shifted his gaze. “Yes.”

“Well welcome. I’m Anna.”

“Hi.”

“I’m putting up a slo-pitch sign up this afternoon. You should sign up!”

“No thank you,”

“Come on, it will be fun. You can make some friends!”

“I’m here to work, not make friends.” He mumbled quietly and walked away before she could utter another word.

Anna watched him walk away, taken aback. “What a jerk.” She muttered under her breath.

*****

Truth was, he loved sports, and playing softball sounded like a lot of fun, but not if he had to deal with _her_. He had only been there for a day and a half, and already she had been very, _very_ hard to ignore. She was loud and she talked all the time. It was a wonder she got any work done. He was having a hard time getting his _own_ work done, being in close enough proximity to her desk to hear almost everything she said, and she was on the phone _a lot._

He had hoped to avoid her as long as possible, and then she went ahead and bumped into him. He knew it was inevitable. Someone like her would be just the type to eventually seek him out and introduce herself, despite his best efforts to go unnoticed and keep his head down, but he had hoped to go a little longer, without drawing any attention to himself.

\--

For a week Anna watched the sign-up sheet fill as slow as she had ever seen it. When she asked around, even more people had admitted that they had too much going on and had to drop out, and she was getting worried that they would not have enough people to even enter a team in the league.

All day she bugged people who were indecisive before, to let her know if they were interested, and out of ten people, she only managed to convince two to join.

She kept watching the clock. She knew she had until five to put their team in, otherwise the league would be closed and they would have to wait until the next year. Anna hated the thought that they would miss out on the Spring season for the first time in five years.

She knew if she begged her sister enough, that she could get her to play, even though she _hated_ sports. So, if she could find one more person to sign up….

Before Anna even realized, it was past her lunch time. She had been so caught up with work and finding people for the team, that she didn’t even realized she had missed it, until her stomach started to growl. She headed to the break room to scarf down her food and get back to it.

She walked into the room, absentmindedly humming to herself, expecting to be alone since most people had eaten two hours prior, but she was surprised to see the new guy sitting at a table by himself. He looked up at her entrance, and Anna thought that the corner of his nose pulled up ever so slightly into a sneer, before he turned his gaze back down.

Anna grabbed her lunch bag from the fridge and went to a table on the opposite side of the room and took a seat. She pulled out her sandwich and realized she forgot her phone at her desk, so she would have nothing to do while she was eating. She glanced sideways at the _rude,_ new guy. He was idly reading a magazine, and Anna resisted the urge to ask.  
He would say no again.  
He would _probably_ say no again, wouldn’t he?

She tapped her fingers on the table as she inhaled her sandwich, deep in thought. She only had just over 2 hours to find at the very least, one more person to sign up. She glanced sideways again, just as he was packing up his things.  
What’s the harm in asking one more time?

She shoved the last bite of food in her mouth and hastily swallowed, getting up as he did, and walking apprehensively towards him. “Um, hi, me again… about the company slo-pitch team…” She started.

He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her as if she must be kidding. He opened his mouth, but Anna blurted her feelings.

“Look, I organize and do this thing every year. There is people that really enjoy this, and a lot them don’t get to do much socializing, so it’s good for everyone, you know? And I am two people short, or rather, if I can at least find one more person before five, then I can sign us up, and if not, we won’t be able to enter the league this year, and so many people enjoy it, myself included and I don’t want to let anyone down because-”

“Fine.” He interrupted her, putting his hands up. “If you stop talking right now, I’ll sign up.”

“Really?”

He gave her a look that said she better not make a fuss, so she didn’t. “Thank you.” She muttered, as he walked around her and out of the break room. As soon as she was sure he was gone, she let out an excited squeak.

*****

He heard the enthusiastic little noise as he walked slowly away from the break room, and rolled his eyes, fully expecting that he would hear it. He surprised himself a little, that he was excited by the though about getting out for the spring and play every weekend, since it had been a long time since he had done so. But he was still apprehensive about being in such close proximity to the overly smiley, and _very_ talkative red-head. 

As soon as she told him they couldn’t have a team without one more player, he had decided right away to say yes, despite the fact that it was her who was asking. He didn’t like being around people, _at all_ , and he didn’t remember a lot about his parents, but one thing he _did_ remember, was how they taught him from a young age to always lend a helping hand when needed, and to try his best to always do the right thing, no matter what. And a team that might miss out because they needed one more player, was something that he could easily help with. And how bad could it be anyway? He would have to hang around with a crowd, and _her_ , but at least he could play a game that he loved.

He went to the sign-up sheet and put his information on it, thinking in that moment about his love for the game and nothing else.

*****

Anna had no other luck in getting anyone else to sign up with her last feeble attempts, so she grabbed the sheet an hour later, letting out a sigh of relief that the new guy was true to his word, and had put his info down. She hadn’t really expected that he wouldn’t, and yet…

She hurried to her computer and pulled up the website for the rec league and signed them up as quick as she could. She just had to glance at most of the names on the sheet before she entered their info from memory, and then she got to the last name and entered his information.

_Huh, his name is Kristoff. I didn’t peg him for a name like that. Christopher maybe.... And his last name is Bjorgman… Wait, what? How do I pronounce that? Eh, either way. Oh wow, he’s almost three years older than me. I kind of thought we were the same age. I mean I guess that is still pretty close. What the…? That can’t be his personal email address!_ [Reindeerking85](mailto:Reindeerking85@gmail.com) _? Seriously? There has to be a story behind that, unless he’s a total weirdo. He might be a weirdo. He kind of looks like a weirdo. But he act’s like a jerk… ah whatever._

She shrugged and finished up the last of the registration and sent it in. Then she printed all the waiver forms and got up to hand them out.

\--

Kristoff wasn’t surprised he was the first one there. He prided himself on never being late for anything, and recreation was no exception. He was just unpacking his gear when he heard her. She was talking, _surprise, surprise_ , and when he turned to look, she was walking up with a platinum blonde woman who could only be her sister; they looked so alike. 

“Kristoff! You’re here.” She said as she approached him.

He frowned. To his ears, they way she said it, suggested that she thought he wouldn’t bother coming. Did he really act like that much of a jerk, that she thought he would actually do something like that? Did she think that he had absolutely no integrity?   
Ah, what did it matter. He was there to play the game and nothing else.

He watched silently as people started to arrive, and she greeted everyone with equal enthusiasm and bounded all over making sure that everyone knew the batting order and where their positions were. She went over to the bench the other team was, almost skipping. He knew she was probably introducing herself and seeing if they were ready before they tossed the coin to see who would take the field and who would be at bat.

He saw her modest celebration that she won the toss, and she jogged back over to their bench to announce that they would be batting first.

It was something else to observe her outside of the work environment. He hadn’t thought that she could be even _more_ bubbly, but he was swiftly proven wrong. She encouraged everyone, and that smile was just plastered on her face. How could anyone smile so much? It was rather annoying. When it was his turn to bat, she even gave _him_ a smile, despite how little she obviously thought of him.

He stepped up to the plate and without warning, all of his childhood memories of playing baseball came flooding back. Memories of his parents came flooding back, in a way he did not expect. It took him back to that impossibly happy time. It was all smiles, and the feel of the stitches under his fingers as he held the ball in his hand before he threw it, and the satisfying _thwack_ against his glove as he caught the return throw.   
Why then? Why then of all times, was he suddenly thinking about his past? 

*****

Anna watched him stand still for two perfect pitches, and her heart sunk. She hadn’t expected him to sign up just to have him come out and do nothing but fill a required body for the team. How could he do that? He worked with them all. How could he just act like that? How could he just _not care_? The fury that rolled within her was enough.

She whistled loudly to signal she was walking into the diamond and the pitcher nodded an acknowledgement.

She stepped up behind him. “What do you think you are doing?” She asked through barely gritted teeth. 

He turned around slowly, and she was not expecting the look she saw on his face. She was expecting apathy, indifference, hell, she even expected he might look angry, but he looked… sad, and it hit her in a way she did not expect.

“I… wow, I zoned out there.” He said slowly and his eyes seemed to suddenly come into focus and he shook his head. “Sorry. I’m good now. I can do this.”

She nodded and backed away apprehensively, watching as he turned around and took his stance again. This time, he shifted his shoulders as he adjusted his grip around the bat, and ground his left foot into the shale. As soon as she was back at their bench, she saw the pitch. It was almost too fast. She saw his body transfer his weight in his backswing as his forward leg came up, and the motion of his body as he swung the bat, was a thing of beauty. The result, was one of the most satisfying sounds in the world, in Anna’s opinion. 

She watched, mouth gaping, as the ball sailed well over the fence. It was the furthest she had ever seen anyone hit a softball. Her eyes went back to him as he jogged around the bases, and she was amazed to see that he was smiling.  
 _Well that certainly looks better on him than his usual scowl._

Anna enjoyed ever single minute of that game. She loved seeing everyone have fun, and she loved that they won, but her heart fell that their shining star of a player decided not to go out for a drink and a bite with the team afterwards. Instead he packed up his stuff quickly and left without saying goodbye. She kind of hated that someone on their team didn’t really want to socialize, since that was the whole point of putting the team together all those years ago, but what was she to do? 

She had to remind herself that some people were just like that, so she pushed his rudeness from her mind and enjoyed the company of her co-workers and friends.

\--

Kristoff was the first to arrive again, leaving a little earlier so he could relish the quiet, sitting in the sun, before everyone else got there. He was a little surprised to see her so early as well, walking up to the bench, alone with a frown.

“Hi Kristoff.”

She said it so half-heartedly that he was shocked into asking. “What’s wrong?”

“Well, I think we might have to forfeit the game.” She sat on the other end of the bench and folded her hands into her lap. “My sister couldn’t come tonight, Frank is sick, and Gerda had leave town for a funeral. We don’t meet the minimum roster requirement for the game, especially because we’re down two ladies.”

Kristoff frowned, not understanding. He had never played in a rec league before. “What do you mean?”

“Well since it’s co-ed, the _minimum_ number of female players is three, and since it’s only myself and Heather, we are one lady short. Then there’s the batting order. We can’t have more than three males bat in a row, not to mention I don’t even think we’ll have enough to get 9 players out there. My last count was 7.”

“I see.” Kristoff said slowly. He shouldn’t be thinking what he was thinking. The last thing he wanted to do was get personal with anyone he worked with, but there was something about seeing Anna without a smile that was… unsettling. “I could make a call. Might be able to get a couple extra players for us.” 

She raised an eyebrow. “Really?” 

She was looking at him like she didn’t believe that he actually had friends, which frustrated him and made him realize even more how much he didn’t want to get too chummy with his co-workers, but he was already pulling his phone from his pocket, despite his better judgement. He had already opened his big mouth anyway.

*****

“Ok, my buddy Sven and his girlfriend August are headed right over.”

Anna resisted the urge to hug him, so she gave him a big smile instead. “Thank you, so much!”

“Don’t mention it, please.” He mumbled.

Anna could not figure him out. One minute he was kind and the next he was stand-offish. She watched him as they waited. He was wearing the same baseball tee he wore the last game. It was well worn, and showed the definition of his muscles that were otherwise hidden at work by his button-down shirt. He was also in jeans instead of dress pants, and he had a baseball cap that he kept taking on and off, as if he couldn’t decide if he wanted to wear it or not. A nervous tick perhaps?

He greeted his friends when they arrived with a smile that he hadn’t yet shown her, or anyone else in the office. His friend Sven was certainly the opposite. Him and his girlfriend were getting along and talking with everyone else with ease, and yet Kristoff spoke exclusively to them and no one else.

She wasn’t all that surprised that he declined to go out with the team afterwards again to celebrate their second win.

\--

“Why don’t you ask that red-head out?”

“What?”

“The one you were looking at, at the game the other night.”

“I was _not_ looking.”

“Oh yes you were.”

“She’s annoying as hell. I don’t want anything to do with her.”

“She’s pretty.” Sven mused.

“I hadn’t noticed.”

“Pffft, I know for a fact you are a red-blooded male, and I know for a fact that you noticed.”

“Just drop it. I don’t want to get involved with any of those people.”

“That’s your problem, Kristoff. That’s why I’m your only friend.”

“So? I like that you’re my only friend.”

Sven shook his head. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed how moody you’ve been lately because I am hanging out more with August. I love her man. I’m going to marry her someday, and I won’t be able to keep you company all the time.”

“What are you saying?”

“You know what I’m saying! You’re lonely. I know you’re lonely. Hell, _you_ know you’re lonely, but you have such a thick skull, that you won’t _admit_ it to yourself.”

Kristoff hated it when Sven was right. He hated how Sven could see right through him. “I’m not good at making friends.” 

“You know what? Just go out with your team this weekend. Go hang out with everyone and I am sure you will be surprised that people are willing to talk to you. Even more if you lose that scowl.”

“I don’t have a scowl.”

“Yeah okay, keep telling yourself that.”

\--

In the bottom of the 7th inning, they were last in the field, and Anna enjoyed watching Kristoff as catcher. He had such a keen eye for it, even though he admitted that all his years of playing baseball, he had never played that position. With Frank at the mound, there was no way to tell exactly where the pitch was going to go, but she had not yet seen him miss putting the ball in his glove, even the ones that were _Juuuust a bit outside._

When the last out was made, and they had won, she saw Kristoff smile at them from the distance as they all high-fived each other and celebrated before they went back to the bench in a group.

She didn’t even ask him. She knew he would say no. That was why she took interest in watching him pack up his things slowly and linger with the team. Curious, she manoeuvred herself a little closer to him, pretending to make sure she had all her things when he met her eyes. “Mind if I tag along this time?” He asked.

She was a little surprised that he seemed almost… timid. “Of course not. The more the merrier.” She said with a very genuine smile.

He gave her a weak smile in return, and said nothing else as they all dropped their stuff of in their cars and walked over to the Pub across the street. 

Anna could not take her eyes off him. She stole as many glances as she could without it seeming like she was outwardly staring. He sat there, tense and unsmiling when they first arrived, looking very nervous, but soon he was talking idly with Gerda and his eyes were calm. He looked much better when he was at ease. He was actually quite… handsome.   
_He’s more than handsome. He’s something else.  
He’s… gorgeous._

As the crowd started to dwindle, she was a little amazed that he was still there, given his previous attitude, so she took the opportunity and moved to the empty chair beside him. “So, you having fun?”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah. I am.”

“Good. So, you’ll start making this a regular thing then huh? Coming out afterwards?” 

He bobbed his head to the side and the corner of his mouth pulled up ever so slightly. “I think maybe I will.”

“And maybe you’re up for a bit of chit chat at work too?”

He broke out in a sly smile, his eyes twinkling with humor. “Well, that’s pushing it.” 

Anna laughed, and he joined her. It was the first time she had ever heard him do so, and she was shocked by the loveliness of the sound.

\--

He hadn’t been able to get her off his mind. He could not believe all the things they discovered that they had in common when they talked after the game on the weekend. That and the fact that, as he was falling asleep, he had been thinking about the cute braids she twisted her hair into for each game. He was thinking about her freckles and her smile, and her incredibly blue eyes.  
And how soft her lips looked.

He had indeed noticed she was pretty, even from the very beginning. _She’s more than pretty. She’s stunning in her beauty._ He just hated it when Sven was right.

She suddenly appeared at his side. “Hey Kristoff, Heather and I are heading across the street to Kevin’s Deli for lunch. Want to come with?”

_No_. “Sure.” _Dammit!  
_ She was getting through to him, and he knew it. She was breaking down all his defenses, slowly and surely. She was changing him, and he realized that he was helpless to stop it.

\---

The change in him was so gradual, that Anna had suddenly realized the difference one day, while her and Frank and Gerda were sitting at a table with him eating lunch, something that he had been doing for about a week and a half.

He was listening and smiling and offering a little conversation with them. He was still very quiet, but a far cry from taking his lunch two hours after everyone else so he could sit alone. Anna never did write him off, despite his initial rudeness. It took a lot for her to straight up dislike someone, and although her instinct was to just ignore him, his recent effort seemed to say a lot more about his character, than what his words had thus far managed.

She _knew_ there was a lot more to him. No one was as they appeared on the surface (except for a very few), and she had a feeling there was a reason he had acted the way he did. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get to the bottom of it, but it meant a lot to her that he seemed to be happier and was making some friends in the office.

Frank and Gerda ate a little faster than normal, and excused themselves to ‘get back to their busy work day’, but Anna did not miss the glance that they shot each other. Anna was almost done her sandwich and Kristoff was just finishing some yogurt, so of course, they were left at the table alone with each other to talk.

She didn’t actually think he would start any conversation, so she was about to say something when he surprised her by speaking first. “So, uh, I have a question.”

“Sure.” Anna said, wondering what he was going to ask.

“Sox or Cubs?”

“Oh, Cubs all the way.”

He nodded with a smile and gave a tiny laugh, which Anna thought was out of relief. She understood in that instant that he was asking as a Cubs fan himself.

“Now I get to ask you something.” She countered.

He looked a little apprehensive, but he nodded and said, “Okay.”

“Your email. What the hell does Reindeer King mean?”

He surprised her by tilting his head back and laughing. “Oh, Anna. That is so much of an inside joke between me and Sven, that it would probably take a whole evening to explain it.”

_Then ask me out_ , she thought impulsively, but laughed with him instead. “Fair enough.” She conceded.

He smiled at her and mentioned getting back to work as he took to his feet, and her heart fell. She hadn’t realized until that instant, just how much she had come to like him.

****

_You should have asked her out you dummy!  
Ah she’s not interested.  
How do you know unless you ask?  
Oh just shut up!  
Come on man! Grow a pair!  
I don’t want to lose her friendship though! It’s so hard to make friends!  
You are an idiot!_

He shook his head all the way back to his desk, cursing himself for not just having any guts.

\--

He _loved_ to watch her play. First base was a perfect vantage point for him, and he was able to simply observe her in her element. She caught everything that was thrown at her, and she was nimble and fast. The way she watched every play, every movement on the field, was amazing. Her focus was incredible. She had an intensity about the game that got to him in a way he never imagined possible.

Every stretch she made for an off throw, every time she ducked low to get the ball, was so graceful, it was like watching a ballet dancer with a baseball glove.

He liked her. He liked her _a lot_. For the past two weeks, he had been making his attempt at an effort to talk to her more and try his hand at flirting, but he could not read her feelings on him. He watched as other guys flirted with her as well (a lot better than he was able to), and they way she acted in return to them, was the same was she acted around him, so he had no idea her level of interest. Either that or he was missing something. 

He chided himself for his initial rudeness to her, knowing it was probably the reason she had shown no interest. He knew it had probably left a bad taste in her mouth. Well, there was no _probably_ about it. 

He couldn’t understand why he wasn’t able to just _like_ people. Why did people make him nervous and edgy? He had been that way as long as he could remember. Sven often speculated that, after he lost his parents, it was the horrible experiences in foster homes as a young boy that did it. But Kristoff really couldn’t pinpoint it himself. He could barely remember a time when he hadn’t been that way. Had Sven not befriended him when they wound up in the same foster home when they were teenagers, he was sure that he would have no one.

He stretched at one of Frank’s wild pitches and caught the ball in his glove. He leaned forward on one knee as he tossed it back, letting his gaze wander back to first base, where Anna stood looking back at him with a smile on her face. 

That smile! That smile that had seemed so annoying when he first met her, was now one of the things that gave him life. He realized just what that meant had happened to his heart when he saw it. He was falling in love with her; hard and fast.

\--

Anna arrived extra early with a surprise for everyone. She was so proud of her team, but she was disheartened that it was their last game. She loved being out on the ball diamond, and she loved spending time outside of work with everyone, and she loved the game. There was nothing much else that made her so happy and relaxed.

She was getting everything ready when she heard the wonderful tone of his voice behind her, knowing that he would be early as well.

“Hi Anna. Need a hand?”

She turned around, seeing him walk up in the familiar baseball tee of his, with a gentle smile on his face. In the two months that she had known him, she had grown very fond of him. Fond of him in a way that had her thinking about him constantly. Fond of him in a way that she desperately wished they were more than just friends.

He had come out of his shell, so to speak, and she had hoped that he would maybe have started to show a little interest in her. She had given him a few subtle hints, not wanting to be too forthcoming so as not to scare him off, but so far, he had kept the mood friendly. She had quietly turned down offers for dates from a few other guys in the office, in the hopes that Kristoff would ask her out sometime, but he seemed content to just keep the interaction at a friends and co-workers level, so she had stopped trying to let him know how much she had come to care about him.

“Sure Kristoff. Maybe help me sort those by size?” 

He picked up one of the brand-new baseball t shirts with their team logo on it and the slogan _We’re Number 1_. Even if they lost their last game, they were still so ahead in points, that it was inevitable to end up in first place. “These are nice!” He said.

She smiled at his smile, mumbling a nervous ‘thanks’, and finished arranging all the food she bought for everyone to snack on. She felt his presence come up behind her, and a sudden chill of desire went down her spine. She wanted him to slide his hands around her. She wanted him to kiss her.   
_Forget it Anna, he just isn’t interested._

“Need help with anything else?”

_My burning desire, please._ “No, I think we’re good.”

Everyone else started to arrive and the mood was fun and laid back. The game went by so much faster than Anna expected. She talked with people, unless Kristoff was at the plate, so she could give him her full attention. She would never get tired of watching him swing a bat. And before she knew it they had gone through almost all 7 innings.

They were last at bat, down by one point, and she watched her wonderful team get in one more run to tie it up, before they were facing two outs. Kristoff was standing beside her, and she was trying very hard to concentrate on the game, and not her proximity to him.

Frank was up next, and he was not their best hitter. In fact, he was their worst, but it didn’t matter anyway. She watched him swing blindly at the first two perfect pitches, knowing he was about to do the very same to the third, when that glorious sound filled her ears.

She was shocked to see the ball sail way into right field, past the outfielders who had gathered at the edge of the respect line, knowing that Frank could only hit weak grounders, when and if he was able to connect with the ball. It bounced and rolled and she witnessed Frank run faster than she had ever seen in her life. 

By the time Frank was on second, the outfield finally got to the ball and threw it in, but the throw was short, and the ball came to a stop about 20 feet from second base. The other team scrambled for it, as Frank rounded third, and Heather was standing there, screaming at him to take home. When the ball was finally thrown, it was way too late, and Frank sailed easily across home base, with a giant grin on his face. 

The team rushed out to hug Frank, but Anna turned and threw herself into Kristoff’s arms.   
She hadn’t thought about it, she hadn’t planned it, but in that split second of happiness, she knew it was where she wanted to be.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, as his hands slid around her waist and pulled her close as if he had already done it a million times. Her heart sang, even if it was still only a friendly gesture. She was about to pull away when she realized she couldn’t. He was still holding her tight and her mind started to scream at her what that meant, but before she could suss it out, his arms loosened and he let her go.

She slid slowly down to her feet and looked up into his beautiful brown eyes. His expression was hard to gauge. He looked, shocked a little, like she had maybe overstepped a boundary? But at the same time there was a sadness about him that she couldn’t quite read into. She wanted to ask what it meant, but before she could, the team came barreling back to the benches and swept them up in their celebrations.

*****

He needed to talk to her. The hug. That look she gave him, after the hug… he needed to know what it all meant. But they were all celebrating and everyone was always talking with Anna, because she was so easy to talk to, and she was, well… _Anna_.

He caught eyes with her many times, but it was fleeting, and he couldn’t glean anything. He would just have to wait. 

And wait he did. It seemed as though everyone, himself included, had elected to take cabs home, since drinks were flowing with wanton abandon as they all celebrated their win. He found it easier to talk, when he had a drink or two in him, like a lot of people did he supposed. And yet, at the same time he just wanted to be anywhere else in the world, alone with Anna.

He started chatting with people, and got trapped in several conversations. He lost sight of her many times since they were all spread out over the Pub, but she had never left his mind for a second.

The beer was making him sleepy, and he found himself a quiet place at the bar to wait, watching her idly. She finally said goodbye to the last member of the team besides to two of them, and she walked over slowly to where he had chosen to perch himself.

“Hey Kristoff.” She said, taking the stool beside him.

“Hey Anna.” He said with an involuntary dip of his head and a wide grin. He was happy that she was beside him.

“You’re drunk.”

He giggled involuntarily and nodded slowly. “You are correct.” 

“Well, we sure had a fun day, didn’t we?”

“Anna, listen, I need to tell you, or I mean ask you…”

He thought her face fell, ever so slightly. “Not now Kristoff. We can talk about that later. Just let me drive you home.”

“Haven’t you been drinking too?”

“Not since my first beer. I wanted to make sure everyone was behaving themselves. I’ve been drinking water for three hours. I’m perfectly fine to drive.”

“M’kay.” He said as he slid from the stool. He threw some bills on the table (way too much, he knew, but he didn’t care) and followed her outside. He had to bend down low, almost falling, to get into the passenger seat of her car, before he finally settled in. Anna got in the driver’s seat and started out. 

“Where do you live?”

“On North Oakley Ave.”

“Wow, I live pretty close to you. On West Summerdale.”

“Really? All this time, and I had no idea you lived so close.”

“Yeah, I had no idea either.” She smiled, but he thought her eyes looked unhappy.

Kristoff didn’t really want to make small talk. He wanted to… _talk_ , talk. “Anna, about that hug.”

She was silent for a moment, staring straight ahead at the road. “Yeah? What about it?”

He didn’t really know how to take that. Maybe his drunk mind was a little slow, but he perceived it to be that she was brushing it off. “Never mind.” He muttered.

“No really, what?” She said, glancing over at him, but her voice sounded tired.

He had a half a mind to just shut his mouth, but before he could stop himself he was confessing his feelings to her. “Anna, I… ugh, you are just so beautiful, and awesome. And you are an amazing ball player, and you encourage everyone and you are so nice and kind, and thoughtful, and your smile is like, the light of my life, and you are so beautiful you take my breath away…” He sighed heavily, “I love you.”

She was quiet for a second before she spoke. “Kristoff you’re drunk.”

He shook his head. “No, I’m not. I mean, I am, but I meant what I said. I’m drunk, but I’m right.”

She gave a sigh. “Sure Kristoff. Whatever you say.”

*****

He was quiet until she pulled up to his house and walked around the car to help him get out. He needed her help too, fumbling his hand on the arm rest and wobbling himself to standing. She threw herself under his shoulder and helped him to his front door, watching with a distracted amusement as he fumbled with his key, until he finally got his door open.

She didn’t ask, but she helped him take his shoes off, and followed him to his bedroom to make sure he would be okay. She helped him take off his hoodie, before he flopped face first one his bed.

She turned to walk away when he mumbled something against the bedding, so she stopped, and turned around slowly to look at the eye that wasn’t mushed against the covers, looking at her. “Pardon?”

“I love you Anna.” He slurred slightly, and gave a goofy grin that illustrated perfectly the state his mind must be in.

Anna felt the prick of tears in her eyes. She wanted to believe him. She desperately wanted to believe him, but how could she believe such a confession from someone whom she had only talked to at work and company softball games. He hadn’t even asked her out on a date, let alone given her any clear signs that he was _that_ interested, and he was telling her that he loved her all of the sudden? There was no way it was real. As much as she wanted it to be.

After all, he was not the first guy to admit affections to her while drunk, to just to ignore and avoid her the next day because the sentiment was not genuine. She herself was guilty of saying things she didn’t quite mean when she was happily buzzed. 

She said goodnight and left the room without another word. She twisted the lock on the doorknob before pulling it closed, wondering what was going to become of everything.

\--

All Sunday she stayed in a vegged out on the couch with movies and food. She was too distracted to do much of anything else. She wondered if he would call her. Or text her. Or _something_. She knew he had her number, and she waited, thinking that he might get in touch with her, if he had been genuine. 

But she went to bed without a word, and a sadness in the truth that he was that; simply drunk.  
There was no way he could love her, as she had come to love him.

\--

He wasn’t at work on Monday, and everything that Anna feared, had been proved true. Why else would he not be there? She had even gone over to Heather in HR and asked her. Heather knew she wasn’t supposed to divulge any personal information, but she motioned for Anna to lean in close to her desk and whispered that he had phoned in to take a personal day.

There it was. The guilty avoidance. He might even take the next day off too, and then he would show up to work and be distant and quiet, and he would sit with other people at lunch, or start taking it by himself again.

She was too distracted to concentrate on work, and it made her frustrated. She wanted to chat with everyone again about their win over the weekend, but every time someone came to talk, her heart wasn’t in it.

She went to eat her lunch with everyone else, even if it was the last thing she wanted to do. It seemed as though most of her co-workers could gauge her mood, probably because she wasn’t smiling, so they kept their focus off of her.

She was staring at her untouched sandwich on the table when she realized that everyone else in the room had grown quiet. She looked up to see what was going on, and her eyes settled onto his. He was standing in the open doorway of the break room, with a heartbreaking expression of torment on his features. 

She got slowly to her feet as he took a few tentative steps into the room. “I have to know.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “Anna, I know I shouldn’t have confessed my love for you when I was drunk, but… I _do_ love you. I fell in love with you, but I was too stupid to ask you out first. I spent all last night awake, and I spent all morning writing my resignation letter, knowing that I can’t keep working with someone I am in love with, who… who…” He pulled in a deep, shaky breath. “Anna, I have no idea what you think of me, and I began to assume you didn’t feel the same way, and I know I should have called you, but I was too scared about what you were going to say, but then I realized how stupid that was, and I got all caught up in my own mind like I _always_ do and… But, I just need to hear _you_ say it. I need to know that there is no chance between us, before I turn in that letter.”

Anna felt the pain in her throat and the pinch at her eyes. She hadn’t even thought to call him. She was so focused on the fact that she was sure he was just drunk and didn’t mean it, that she couldn’t see that he was in agony, because he had confessed his feeling and all she had said in return was goodnight. Not, _we’ll talk about this later_ , or _let’s see how you feel in the morning_. Simply goodnight, and she had left. She chided herself, realizing that they had both been sitting in misery, thinking that their affection for each other wasn’t there.

She didn’t know what to say. She gaped at him, trying to find the words to express herself when he spoke again, taking another small step forward.

“Anna, you changed my heart. You changed _me_. Even if you don’t feel the same way, I can’t ever thank you enough for that. I will be forever grateful that you came into my life, because you made me want to be a better person. But… God Anna, I am so in love with you, it _hurts_. I just have to know exactly how you feel about me, before I can move on.”

His gaze was pleading and he was on the verge of becoming heartbroken right in front of her if she didn’t speak, but words still escaped her.   
So she ran to him. She ran to his arms, and the happy shock that crossed his face, and she jumped, and he caught her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, and she kissed him with everything she had.

Never in her life had she had such a kiss. It was full of passion and relief and an almost crushing euphoria. It was simply magic. Her legs weakened under the weight of the feeling, and she felt herself slip ever so slightly, before his grip tightened around her and he pulled her tighter against his chest, one hand moving down her back to her bottom, to hold her up against him. She melted into him and she could feel him melt into her, as their lips parted and they completely lost themselves in each other.

She pulled back long enough to breath “I love you too” before she met his mouth again. She was vaguely aware that everyone in the breakroom was hooting and clapping, but she ignored them all. Kristoff was her world at the moment. He was everything she needed and more.

When they finally gained some sense, and stopped kissing in front of their co-workers, he had set her down slow and gentle. But it only took one look at her lips before he swept her up into his arms and carried her out of the office.  
They never went back to work that day.  
And no one cared.

\--

\--

Kristoff came up behind her and slid his hands around her waist and kissed her neck.

She giggled and turned around in his embrace, pushing up onto her tiptoes to meet his lips. He knew he would never, ever get tired of kissing her. 

“You excited for the first game of the year tomorrow night?” She said when she pulled out of his arms to stir whatever she was making on the stove.

“Of course.” He said, taking a seat at their kitchen table.

He watched her, and his heart ached for the millionth time at the thought that she was _his_. He thought back to a year ago, when he had fallen in love with her, and to where they were then, in that moment. She had been living with him for five months, and he had every intention in the world of buying her a ring, and soon.

He had no idea what his life would have been like, had Anna had not come into it. He shuddered to think where he would be. Sven and August were getting married in a month and he knew they wanted to start a family right away. Where would that have left him? Sitting alone most nights, drowning in his own loneliness, is where.

Now he had Anna. He had his _life_ , right there, smiling that heartbreaking smile at him every day. She had been promoted to management, so he didn’t get to see her as often during the day anymore, but they spent every waking hour outside of work with each other. They went on double dates with Sven and August, and they often had meals out with co-workers and their other friends, but for the most part, they liked to be at home. Alone. Together. 

They would drive home from work and make dinner, sometimes eating in-front of the TV if there was a baseball game on. Some nights they went for a walk, and other nights they cuddled up to each other and watched a movie. When they were tired they went to bed, and when they were frisky they _sometimes_ went to bed. But one thing was a constant in all the evenings they had spent together since that first wonderful night. They went to the _same_ bed, and they would wrap their bodies together, and confess their love before falling into a deep, satisfying sleep, knowing that they had finally found the happiness and love that they had both been aching for.

**Author's Note:**

> written for kristannachristmasinjuly2017 on tumblr


End file.
